Heat dissipation module and supporting element thereof

ABSTRACT

A heat dissipation module includes a heat sink, a two-phase heat exchange device and a supporting element. The two-phase heat exchange device is located between the supporting element and the heat sink. The supporting element receives the two-phase heat exchange device, and the supporting element has a main body including a bottom part and at least two sidewall parts. An accommodating space is formed by the bottom part and the sidewall parts of the main body of the supporting element to receive the two-phase heat exchange device, and the received two-phase heat exchange device is attached to the bottom part of the main body of the supporting element. The two-phase heat exchange device is located and sandwiched between the supporting element and the heat sink.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 097104475, filed on Feb. 5, 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heat dissipation module and a supporting element thereof, and in particular to a supporting element utilized to fix a two-phase heat exchange device, thereby preventing a wick structure damage and deformation caused by temperature and external forces.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the continuous developments in electronic device efficiency, heat dissipation has become one essential issue in electronic devices. If heats generated by an electronic device is not properly dissipated, the efficiency of the electronic device may lower, or even worse, the electronic device may malfunction or burnout.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional plate heat pipe 11 applied with a heat sink 13. There is a copper block 12 disposed on the bottom of the plate heat pipe 11, and the copper block 12 of the plate heat pipe 11 can directly contact with a heat source (e.g., a CPU, but not shown in FIGs.) for transferring heats away from the heat source. A heat sink 13 is disposed on the plate heat pipe for increasing a heat dissipation area, and the heat sink 13 and the plate heat pipe 11 are combined and connected onto the heat source by penetrating several screws 14 there through.

Because only the top of the plate heat pipe 11 is supported by the heat sink 13 and the bottom of the plate heat pipe 11 and the heat source does not fully contact with each other, the plate heat pipe 11 deforms by expanding when hot and shrinking when cold for large operating temperature changes. Additionally, the deformation ruins the appearance of the plate heat pipe 11 and the wick structure formed in the plate heat pipe 11 may be damaged, thus, decreasing the heat dissipation efficiency of the plate heat pipe 11.

To closely combine the copper block 12 and the heat source, an external force is applied on the plate heat pipe 11. However, due to the insufficiency of the supporting strength of the inner structure of the plate heat pipe 11, the plate heat pipe 11 is easily deformed by the external force, and the wick structure inside of the plate heat pipe 11 is easily damaged, thus, decreasing the heat dissipation efficiency of the plate heat pipe 11.

Meanwhile, a plate heat pipe with a particular shape has been designed to meet the requirements of different heat dissipation environments and available spaces. However, a special mold is required to be formed for the particular plate heat pipe. Further, because the plate heat pipe is usually combined with or secured to or prevented from interfering with other components on the circuit board, recesses or slots must be formed on the particular plate heat pipe. Thus, the manufacturing difficulty of the particular plate heat pipe as well as costs are increasing.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the described deficiencies with the conventional skills, the present invention provides a heat dissipation module and a supporting element thereof capable of solving the problems such as external force influenced structural deformation, damage caused by temperature expansion and wick structure damage, and increasing potential application of the heat dissipation module in different fields.

To achieve the purposes above, a supporting element for accommodating a two-phase heat exchange device is provided. The supporting element includes a main body including a bottom part and at least two sidewall parts. An accommodating space is formed by the bottom part and the sidewall parts of the main body to receive the two-phase heat exchange device, the received two-phase heat exchange device is attached to the bottom part of the main body, and a welding material is further provided between the bottom part of the main body and the received two-phase heat exchange device.

Further, a heat dissipation module is provided. The heat dissipation module includes a heat sink, a two-phase heat exchange device and a supporting element. The two-phase heat exchange device is located between the supporting element and the heat sink. The supporting element utilized for receiving the two-phase heat exchange device includes a main body. The main body of the supporting element includes a bottom part and at least two sidewall parts. An accommodating space is formed by the bottom part and the sidewall parts of the main body of the supporting element to receive the two-phase heat exchange device, and the received two-phase heat exchange device is attached to the bottom part of the main body of the supporting element.

A welding material is provided between the bottom part of the main body of the supporting element and the two-phase heat exchange device by coating. The bottom part of the main body of the supporting element includes an opening for exposing the two-phase heat exchange device. Further, the opening of the bottom part of the main body of the supporting element is externally connected to a heat-conductive body that contacts with the two-phase heat exchange device. The heat-conductive body can be a heat pipe, a heat post or a solid metallic block. The supporting element or the heat-conductive body contacts with a heat source. The main body of the supporting element further includes at least two locking elements disposed beside the sidewall parts, respectively. The locking elements of the main body of the supporting element include a plurality of holes penetrated by an external fastener, so that the supporting element can be connected on a heat source.

A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional plate heat pipe applied with a heat sink;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a heat dissipation module according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the heat dissipation module in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4A is an exploded view of a heat dissipation module according to a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein the heat sink is different from that in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4B shows, when all components of the heat dissipation module in FIG. 4A are assembled, a sectional structure of the assembled heat dissipation module with respect to line (A-A′) in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a heat dissipation module according to a third embodiment of the present invention, wherein the heat dissipation module includes a supporting element, a two-phase heat exchange device and a heat sink, and all of the supporting element, the two-phase heat exchange device and the heat sink have relative sloped bottoms;

FIG. 6A is an exploded view of a heat dissipation module according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, wherein the heat dissipation module is provided with a fan disposed beside a heat sink; and

FIG. 6B is a schematic view showing the assembled heat dissipation module of FIG. 6A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the present invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a heat dissipation module 2 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The heat dissipation module 2 includes a supporting element 20, a two-phase heat exchange device 21 and a heat sink 23. The two-phase heat exchange device 21 is disposed between the supporting element 20 and the heat sink 23, and the received two-phase heat exchange device 21 is vertically abutted against the supporting element 20 and the heat sink 23. Note that the heat dissipation module 2 in FIG. 2 is inversely placed, thus, the relationship of the heat dissipation module 2 with respect to a heat source (not shown in FIGs.) can be clearly presented. That is, the bottom part 202 of the supporting element 20 of the heat dissipation module 2 is disposed on the heat source in the actual application. In this embodiment, the two-phase heat exchange device 21 is a plate heat pipe.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 simultaneously, FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the heat dissipation module 2 in FIG. 2. The supporting element 20 includes a main body 201. The main body 201 of the supporting element 20 includes the bottom part 202 and at least two sidewall parts 203 located at the periphery of the bottom part 202. In this embodiment, the main body 201 of the supporting element 20 is provided with four sidewall parts 203 configured into two sets of two opposite sidewall parts 203. An accommodating space 204 is formed by the bottom part 202 and the sidewall parts 203 of the main body 201 of the supporting element 20 to receive the two-phase heat exchange device 21. In the assembling of the heat dissipation module 2, the received two-phase heat exchange device 21 is attached to the bottom part 202 of the main body 201 of the supporting element 20, and a welding material is provided between the bottom part 202 of the main body 201 of the supporting element 20 and the received two-phase heat exchange device 21 by coating, thus, heat resistance can be reduced and heat dissipation efficiency can be increased.

The two-phase heat exchange device 21 is a plate heat pipe with a working fluid, such as water, therein. A wick structure is formed on an inner surface of the two-phase heat exchange device 21, and the material of the wick structure is metal, alloy or a porous non-metallic material. When the received working fluid absorbs heats at a vaporizing end of the two-phase heat-exchange device 21, the working fluid is transformationally vaporized into a gaseous phase state, thereby transferring heats away from a designated heat source. Further, when the gasified working fluid is transformationally condensed into a liquid phase state at a condensing end of the two-phase heat exchange device 21, the liquefied working fluid flows back to the vaporizing end via the wick structure, thereby being recycled to rapidly transmit heats continuously.

Further, the bottom part 202 of the main body 201 of the supporting element 20 has an opening 205 for partially exposing the received two-phase heat exchange device 21, and a heat-conductive body 206 is externally connected to the opening 205 of the bottom part 202 of the main body 201 of the supporting element 20 to contact the received two-phase heat exchange device 21. In this embodiment, the heat-conductive body 206 can be a heat pipe, a heat column or a solid metallic block. The bottom part 202 of the supporting element 20 of the heat dissipation module 2 that directly contacts onto the heat source, or the heat dissipation module 2 can perform heat exchange by contact of the heat-conductive body 206 and the heat source.

Furthermore, the main body 201 of the supporting element 20 has at least two locking elements 207 disposed beside the sidewall parts 203, respectively, so that the supporting element 20 can be fixed on the heat source. The main body 201 and the locking elements 207 are integrally formed as a single piece or serve as two separated components to be assembled. In this embodiment, the locking elements 207 of the main body 201 of the supporting element 20 are holes penetrated by an external fastener (e.g. a screw), and the heat source can be a high thermal-radially electronic component such as a central processing unit (CPU), a transistor, a server, a high-level graphic card, a hard drive, a power supply, a vehicle controlling system, a multimedia electronic mechanism, a wireless correspondence station or a high-level game player.

Because the supporting element 20 is disposed between the heat source and the two-phase heat exchange device 21, the two-phase heat exchange device 21 is fully and straightly attached to one side of the bottom part 202 of the supporting element 20 when the two-phase heat exchange device 21 is received in the supporting element 20, and the other side of the bottom part 202 of the supporting element 20 contacts with the heat source. In this embodiment, the received two-phase heat exchange device 21 is vertically abutted and sandwiched between the heat sink 23 and the supporting element 20. Also, the surface of the two-phase heat exchange device 21 is connected to the supporting element 20 by welding, so that the two-phase heat exchange device 21 is capable of bearing a larger pressure, even if the two-phase heat exchange device 21 is not uniformly pressured by external forces or is influenced by expanding when hot and shrinking when cold, the problems such as deformation, poor appearance and loosening attachment in conventional plate heat pipes can be solved, and the uniformity of the wick structure located on the inner surface of the two-phase heat exchange device 21 can still be retained for increasing heat dissipation efficiency for the heat dissipation module 2.

Additionally, the shape of the opening 205 of the bottom part 202 of the main body 201 of the supporting element 20 can be correspondingly varied according to the profile of the heat source to be applied. Compared to the conventional plate heat pipe (which additionally needs to be formed with a particular shape by a special mold), it should be noted that the structure of the two-phase heat exchange device 21 of the embodiment does not need to be changed with respect to the heat source to be applied. Thus, competitiveness of the heat dissipation module of the embodiment is increased, and the costs of the manufacturing process and the special mold thereof can be saved.

However, the heat dissipation module of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, FIG. 4A is an exploded view of a heat dissipation module 4 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B shows, when all components of the heat dissipation module 4 in FIG. 4A are assembled, a sectional structure of the assembled heat dissipation module 4 with respect to line A-A′ in FIG. 4A. The heat dissipation module 4 includes a supporting element 40 having an opening 405, a two-phase heat exchange device 41, and a heat sink 43 provided with two different types of fins 431 and 432. The biggest difference between the heat dissipation module 2 of FIG. 2 and the heat dissipation module 4 of FIG. 4A is on their heat sinks. All fins of the heat sink 23 of the heat dissipation module 2 are similar, but the fins of the heat sink 43 of the heat dissipation module 4 are divided into two kinds. That is to say, the amount, arrangement and orientation of the fins 431 and 432 of the heat sink 43 can be designed on the basis of actual requirements. In FIG. 4B, the two-phase heat exchange device 41 received in the supporting element 40 is partially protruded along the opening 405 of the supporting element 40, so that the two-phase heat exchange device 41 can directly contact with the heat source (not shown) under the supporting element 40.

Further, the shapes of the supporting element, the two-phase heat exchange device and the heat sink can be designed to satisfy the spatial configuration of the actual components, and the shapes of the supporting element, the two-phase heat exchange device and the heat sink are mutually corresponding.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a heat dissipation module 5 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The heat dissipation module 5 has a supporting element 50, a two-phase heat exchange device 51 and a heat sink 53. In order to meet the profile of the heat source and prevent from interfering with other components on the circuit board, all of the supporting element 50, the two-phase heat exchange device 51 and the heat sink 53 have relative sloped bottoms. That is, the supporting element 50 has a sloped bottom 5000, the heat sink 53 has a sloped bottom 5300, and the two-phase heat exchange device 51 have a sloped bottom which has one top sloped surface 5110 and one bottom sloped surface 5120, respectively corresponding to the sloped bottom 5300 of the heat sink 53 and sloped bottom 5000 of the supporting element 50. As the results, the received two-phase heat exchange device 51 can still be vertically abutted against the supporting element 50 and the heat sink 53 when the supporting element 50, the two-phase heat exchange device 51 and the heat sink 53 are assembled.

FIG. 6A is an exploded view of a heat dissipation module 6 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6B is a schematic view showing the assembled heat dissipation module 6 of FIG. 6A. The heat dissipation module 6 includes a supporting element 60 having at least one opening 600, a two-phase heat exchange device 61, a metallic seat 62, a heat sink 63, a fan 64, and an outer case 65 having an inlet 67 a and an outlet 67 b formed at a side thereof. The supporting element 60, the two-phase heat exchange device 61, the metallic seat 62, the heat sink 63 and the fan 64 are received in the outer case 65. The fan 64 disposed beside the heat sink 63 generates airflow to laterally blow the heat sink 63, thus, the heat dissipation efficiency can be increased. The locations of the inlet 67 a and the outlet 67 b of the outer case 65 correspond to the fan 64 disposed beside the heat sink 63. Pluralities of limit posts 66 are disposed at two sides of the supporting element 60. When the two-phase heat exchange device 61, the heat sink 63 and the supporting element 60 are assembled, the two-phase heat exchange device 61 and the heat sink 63 can be prevented from lateral movement by the limit posts 66. The metallic seat 62 directly contacts with the two-phase heat exchange device 61 via the opening 600 of the supporting element 60. When the heat dissipation module 6 is disposed on a heat source (not shown in FIGs.) by contacting the metallic seat 62 thereon, heats generated by the heat source can be conducted away by the metallic seat 62 and then expelled by the two-phase heat exchange device 61 and the fan 64. Thus, heat dissipation efficiency is increased.

Based on the described features of the embodiments, the present invention solves the problems of such as external force influenced structural deformation, damage caused by temperature expansion and wick structure damage, and thus an additional cost for a special mold utilized for forming a particular shape of a two-phase heat exchange device with respect to the heat source can be saved. Also, the potential application of the heat dissipation module in different fields is increased.

While the present invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements. 

1. A supporting element for accommodating a two-phase heat exchange device, the supporting element comprising: a main body comprising a bottom part and at least two sidewall parts; wherein an accommodating space is formed by the bottom part and the sidewall parts of the main body to receive the two-phase heat exchange device, the two-phase heat exchange device is attached to the bottom part of the main body, and a welding material is further provided between the bottom part of the main body and the two-phase heat exchange device.
 2. The supporting element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom part of the main body comprises an opening for partially exposing the two-phase heat exchange device.
 3. The supporting element as claimed in claim 2, wherein the opening of the bottom part of the main body is externally connected to a heat-conductive body contacting with the two-phase heat exchange device, the heat-conductive body comprises a heat pipe, a heat post or a solid metallic block, and the supporting element or the heat-conductive body contacts with a heat source.
 4. The supporting element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body further comprises at least two locking elements respectively disposed beside the sidewall parts, and the locking elements of the main body comprise a plurality of holes penetrated by an external fastener so that the supporting element is connected on a heat source, wherein the main body and the locking elements are integrally formed as a single piece or serve as two separated components to be assembled.
 5. The supporting element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting element is applied with a heat sink, and the two-phase heat exchange device located and sandwiched between the supporting element and the heat sink is abutted against the supporting element and the heat sink.
 6. A heat dissipation module, comprising: a heat sink; a two-phase beat exchange device; and a supporting element utilized for receiving the two-phase heat exchange device and the supporting element comprising a main body comprising a bottom part and at least two sidewall parts, wherein an accommodating space is formed by the bottom part and the sidewall parts of the main body of the supporting element to receive the two-phase heat exchange device, and the two-phase heat exchange device is attached to the bottom part of the main body of the supporting element, and wherein the two-phase heat exchange device is located and sandwiched between the supporting element and the heat sink.
 7. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein a welding material is provided between the bottom part of the main body of the supporting element and the two-phase heat exchange device by coating.
 8. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the bottom part of the main body of the supporting element comprises an opening for partially exposing the two-phase heat exchange device.
 9. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the opening of the bottom part of the main body of the supporting element is externally connected to a heat-conductive body contacting with the two-phase heat exchange device, and the heat-conductive body comprises a heat pipe, a heat post or a solid metallic block.
 10. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the supporting element or the heat-conductive body contacts with a heat source, such as a thermal-radially electronic component comprising a central processing unit, a transistor, a server, a high-level graphic card, a hard drive, a power supply, a vehicle controlling system, a multimedia electronic mechanism, a wireless correspondence station or a high-level game player.
 11. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the main body of the supporting element further comprises at least two locking elements respectively disposed beside the sidewall parts, wherein the main body and the locking elements are integrally formed as a single piece or serve as two separated components to be assembled.
 12. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 11, wherein the locking elements of the main body of the supporting element comprise a plurality of holes penetrated by an external fastener, such as a screw, so that the supporting element is connected on a heat source.
 13. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the two-phase heat exchange device comprises an inner surface disposed with a wick structure, and a material of the wick structure comprises metal, alloy or a porous non-metallic material.
 14. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the two-phase heat exchange device is a plate heat pipe.
 15. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the two-phase heat exchange device is abutted against the supporting element and the heat sink.
 16. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein all of the supporting element, the two-phase heat exchange device and the heat sink have sloped bottoms in relation to the spatial configuration of the actual components, and the shapes of the supporting element, the two-phase heat exchange device and the heat sink are mutually corresponding.
 17. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the heat sink comprises a plurality of fins, and the amount, arrangement and orientation of the fins of the heat sink are varied on the basis of actual requirement.
 18. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a fan disposed beside the heat sink for increasing heat dissipation efficiency.
 19. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 18, further comprising an outer case receiving the supporting element, the two-phase heat exchange device, the heat sink and the fan, wherein the outer case comprises an inlet located corresponding to the fan, and an outlet at one side of the outer case.
 20. The heat dissipation module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the supporting element further comprises two sides and a plurality of limit posts disposed at the sides, and the limit posts of the supporting element limit the displacement of the two-phase heat exchange device and the heat sink when the two-phase heat exchange device, the heat sink and the supporting element are assembled. 